The present invention relates to a portable exercise device, and in particular, to a portable exercise device which is foldable for easy storage and transportation.
Medical authorities in recent years have expressed strong admonitions as to the healthful benefits of regular exercise. Regular exercise programs have therefore become a routine part of the daily schedule for many individuals. When events interfere with routine scheduling of exercise activities, such as business travel, the individual may find normal exercise activities difficult or impossible to perform. It is therefore desirable that exercise devices be made easily portable to allow continued exercise regimens by, for example, a busy executive in the office or even when traveling. Such a portable exercise apparatus is desirably small enough to fit in common traveling luggage and able to provide a substantial variety in the types of exercises available to the user. A number of attempts have been made to achieve these objectives.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,862 to Sayman discloses a portable exercise device with longitudinal chest and lap bars and a torsion coil spring. The arms connecting the lap and chest bars to the coil spring are adjustable in length. The adjustable arms are fixed in position by tightening wingnuts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,413,548 to Hoffman is similar in that a pair of padded longitudinal bars are connected by torsion means which may included a coil spring. The arms connecting the longitudinal bars are adjustable by means of a series of spring locked notches. The coil spring may be replaced by springs of greater or lesser strength. A variety of exercises are shown to be possible with the apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,914 to Friedman discloses a portable exercise device employing a padded chest bar and lap bars. The bars are attached to coil springs. An abdominal belt is used to hold the device in place on the user. Such a belt is also shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,622 to Anderson et al.
While the devices described above are disclosed as being portable, a greater degree of compactness is desirable to render the exercise device truly portable to a business traveler or other person desiring ease of transportation with a high degree of exercise capability.
The present invention addresses this need as described below.